by Paige Tyler
“Come on, dumbass, let’s get you back in the shower. It’s obvious I won’t be getting any sleep with you around and I don’t see you going anywhere without a whole hell of a lot of cold water.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
NOAH RESTED HIS hand on Peyton’s lower back as they walked toward the restaurant. She was so excited she was nearly skipping across the parking lot in her wedge heels and little black dress. While Noah had never said the word date this morning when he mentioned the SEAL promotion party tonight, as far as she was concerned, that’s exactly what it was. A date with her bodyguard-turned-maybe something more.
Maybe something amazing.
Last night had been like something out of a fairytale. She’d come downstairs to tell him again how much she’d enjoyed dinner at his mom’s place. She’d eaten there lots of times before and it had always been fun but being there with Noah made it even more special and she’d wanted him to know that. Then he’d stepped out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel and every thought in her head simply disappeared. Truthfully, Peyton couldn’t even remember how they’d started kissing. She just remembered liking it.
When he’d pulled away, it had nearly crushed her. She’d been so sure he was rejecting her. It shouldn’t have hurt one way or the other, but it had. More than she ever would have imagined. Then he told her why he’d hesitated, and it had been the sweetest, most romantic thing she’d ever heard. And for a woman who made a living writing romance, that was saying something.
She’d been so giddy afterward that it had taken forever to get to sleep. Instead, she’d laid in bed staring at the ceiling, trying to wrap her head around the idea that she and Noah could have something meaningful. A possibility made more amazing by the fact that a relationship with him wasn’t something she’d even known she wanted. Especially since she’d kept telling herself they were too different. But when he suggested they could be amazing, she knew it was something she wanted with all of her heart. And she wanted it immediately.
The noise from the crowded restaurant hit her all at once the moment Noah opened the door for her, and Peyton found herself questioning the idea of having a private party at a place this crowded.
“Don’t worry,” he said as he gave his name to the hostess standing at the front desk. “Sam and Nash reserved a private room in the back.”
Peyton nodded as they followed the hostess through the restaurant with its huge central bar and dozens of TV’s showing sporting events.
“So, Sam and Nash paid for all of this?” she asked, wanting to make sure she’d gotten that right. “I thought this was their promotion party. If that’s the case, why do they have to pay?”
“It’s a military tradition,” Noah explained as the hostess pointed out a wide archway in the back of the restaurant, telling them their group was at the end of the hallway. “When a sailor gets promoted, they always pony up the pay increase from their first month’s paycheck and throw a party for their Teammates. In this case, Sam and Nash pooled their money and paid for a private room and an hour’s worth of free booze, which is also part of the tradition.”
“They get promoted and have to pay for their own party?” she repeated, still not understanding. “It seems like a crappy tradition to me. Shouldn’t the person getting promoted be the one getting the free booze?”
“You’d think so.” He chuckled. “But this particular tradition is less about celebrating another sailor’s good fortune and more about using their newfound money to get drunk.”
Peyton was about to point out how crazy that was when they walked into a big room filled with half a dozen banquet tables and the small bar that Noah had mentioned set up at the far end of the room. There was already about twenty people and her stomach tensed a little when she realized she didn’t know any of them.
At Noah’s prodding, Peyton had invited Laurissa to the party, but her friend wasn’t there yet. Heck, she might not even come at all. Why would she want to hang out with her brother’s Teammates anyway?
It was crazy to think that a group this size would bother her when she’d been in front of crowds of thousands. But those people had been there to meet Peyton Matthews, the writer, not Peyton Matthews, the girl going on a sort-of date with a Navy SEAL. Those were two different people.
“It’s okay,” Noah leaned in and whispered as if reading her mind. “This is simply a group of friends getting together for a night out. I promise, everyone is going to love you.”
Peyton took a deep breath and steeled herself as some of his Teammates came over to give Noah a bro-hug and meet her.
“How’s the knee doing?” Wes asked after most everyone else had drifted away, leaving her and Noah with Wes, his girlfriend, Kyla Wells, and their Teammate, Sam. “No more setbacks while working as Peyton’s bodyguard?”
Noah jerked his head around, obviously checking to make sure no one outside their little circle had overheard. “Want to say that last part a little louder? I don’t think they heard you in Cleveland.”
Noah had warned her before coming to the party that they’d have to hide the whole bodyguard thing. Apparently, his boss thought he was spending his medical leave sitting on his couch playing video games. Noah had gone out of his way to make sure she understood how much trouble he’d be in if they found out he’d taken on outside employment. Peyton had promised not to say anything.
While Peyton chatted with Kyla, bonding over the fact that both of them had gone to San Diego State, she also listened in on the conversation Noah was having with Wes and Sam. A lot of it seemed to revolve around his injured knee, and from the way they were talking about it, she couldn’t help but think there was more going on than he’d told her.
Peyton remembered Laurissa saying something about her brother hurting himself playing volleyball, but she swore she heard Sam say something about him getting injured while over there. She’d watched Noah do some exercises earlier this morning in her workout room and seen him grimace in pain when he put too much pressure on it in the wrong direction. There was no doubt in her mind it was probably more serious than he let on.
She didn’t have a clue what SEALs did, but it wouldn’t be shocking to imagine he’d hurt himself on a mission. It was a little disconcerting to think of him lying to his sister about it. Would he lie to her if she asked him for the truth?
Peyton was wondering about whether she wanted to know the answer to that question when another tall, muscular man approached them with a smile on his face, a woman with long, blond hair at his side. Peyton couldn’t miss the way Noah’s shoulders tensed, making her wonder who the guy was.
“Noah, glad you came,” the man said, reaching out to shake hands while doing that shoulder-grippy thing guys did all the time.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Noah said with a laugh, slipping his arm around her. “This is Peyton Matthews. Peyton, this is Chasen Ward my platoon’s Chief Petty Officer and his wife, Hayley.”
Peyton shook hands with the couple, smiling as Hayley hugged Noah, Wes, Kyla, and Sam. She once again got the sense that his Team was more like a family. It was nice.
A few moments later, Noah slipped away to get them drinks from the bar—since Sam and Nash were nice enough to pay for it—leaving her there alone with his friends.
“So, you’re a full-time writer?” Chasen asked. “Is there good money in that?”
That earned him a smack on the arm from his wife, along with an eye roll. “Honey!”
“What?” he said. “It’s a valid question. I like collecting information in case I decide to make a career change when I retire from the SEALs.”
Peyton laughed. “I do okay.” Like most writers, she didn’t like talking about money. “But if you’re serious about that second career thing, you might want to look elsewhere. The world of fiction publishing can be vicious.”
“Oh, well,” Hayley said with a sigh. “Guess you’ll need to look elsewhere for your shot at fortune and fame.”
Everyone was still laughing at that
when Noah came back with her glass of white wine for her and a Jack and Coke for himself. It may have been her writer’s imagination, but the drink seemed to fit him.
“Considering that I’ve never seen Noah read a book, how’d the two of you meet?” Chasen asked.
Peyton didn’t say anything. She knew they couldn’t reveal that Noah was her bodyguard, so she had no idea how to explain their meeting without revealing that particular detail, other than to say she knew his sister. She glanced out the corner of her eye, trying to let Noah know this one was completely on him.
“Actually, my sister introduced us,” he said, flashing Peyton a grin and making it impossible to not smile back.
Chasen regarded Noah for a long moment, but didn’t say anything. Did he know Noah was hiding something?
Hayley was asking if Peyton lived in San Diego when she heard a familiar voice. She glanced over to see Laurissa coming toward them.
“You came!” Peyton said with a laugh as her friend ran over to hug her, interrupting the conversation she’d been having with Hayley. “I was worried you wouldn’t be able make it with the short notice and everything.”
Laurissa casually punched her much taller brother in the shoulder. “What, and leave you alone to deal with all this testosterone on your own? No chance!”
After Hayley and Chasen left to talk to some of the other people, the conversation quickly moved away from Noah and his ability to hide a secret, focusing on Sam’s promotion and what he was going to do with all that extra money.
“Our pay doesn’t really go up much,” Sam said. “It’s less than two hundred dollars a month after taxes. But the housing allowance goes up almost three hundred dollars a month, meaning I might actually be able to find a place I can afford off base and finally get out of the barracks.”
Laurissa was asking Sam what kind of place he was looking for when yet another tall, muscular man approached their group. Peyton did a double take. Did the Navy have some kind of cloning thing going on? Because like Noah, every man at the party was a physical specimen of perfection.
“You going to make introductions, dude, or you going to make me do it myself?” the man asked, looking back and forth between Peyton and Noah.
Noah snorted. “Peyton, this is Lane Robbins, a new member of our platoon and one of your more rabid fans.”
Peyton laughed. She knew a super fan when she saw one and she was right, because Lane immediately began asking detailed questions about several obscure easter eggs he’d noticed in the most recent book. He’d even picked up on the scholarship letter the hero had received mid-book without fan fair of any type. They were talking about the book signing she’d be doing the next day and whether Lane would be able to make it when Noah interrupted.
“Sorry to break this up, but before she punches me in the arm again for not introducing her, Lane, this is my sister, Laurissa. And before you ask, no, she’s not available.”
It was Peyton’s turn to let out a snort at the blatant way Noah declared his sister off limits, something which earned him that aforementioned punch in the arm he’d been trying to avoid. After giving Noah a glare, Laurissa smiled at Lane and held out her hand.
“I know you from somewhere, don’t I?” Laurissa asked, gazing up at Lane curiously for a moment before her eyes went wide. “Wait a minute! You’re on my to-do list.”
Noah frowned, clearly not liking the sound of that. “What’s a to-do list and why do you have one?”
Most of the people in the room were looking in their direction now, and all of them seemed just as amused as Peyton by the whole exchange.
“That’s what I call the people I consider serious contenders on Tinder that I haven’t gotten around to messaging yet,” Laurissa said, giving him a sweet smile. “In fact, now that I think about it, Lane is at the top of the list.”
While that clearly pleased Lane if the broad grin on his face was anything to go by, poor Noah, on the other hand, looked like he was about to blow a gasket. As for his Teammates, they seemed to think this was the best thing ever.
“Does Mom know you’re fishing for hook-ups on a dating app?” Noah whispered urgently, as if the rest of the room couldn’t hear him. “She’s going to lose her mind when she finds out.”
Laurissa laughed. “Who do you think helped me set up my profile?”
“Please tell me you’re joking,” Noah begged, and Peyton thought for a minute he might pass out.
His sister made a face. “Of course, I’m joking. I don’t even think Mom knows what Tinder is.”
Peyton hid her smile in her glass as she took a sip of wine. While Noah appeared to be relieved at that, he still didn’t seem to like the idea of Laurissa and Lane together. Before he could say anything else, two servers came in and announced they were ready to start taking orders for dinner. Laurissa took that as the signal to go find a seat at one of the tables—with Lane. Noah was about to follow, but Peyton caught his hand, leading him to a different one.
He glared at Lane, who blatantly ignored him. “I don’t think I want my sister seeing someone on my Team.”
“And I don’t think Laurissa cares what you think,” Peyton pointed out as they sat down. “So, maybe let your sister handle her own dating life while we focus on dinner?”
She expected some resistance to that suggestion, but after a moment, Noah sighed and nodded, giving her his full attention and asking if she’d ever eaten at the restaurant before.
The next two hours turned into the best date Peyton had been on in a long time. She spent some of the time chatting with Kyla and Wes, who sat near them, but mostly she and Noah focused on each other as if they were the only ones in the room.
She wasn’t sure what they even talked about. Just…stuff. TV shows and movies they’d seen, their favorite family pets growing up, their love of scuba diving and dislike for broccoli. She even confessed she preferred swimming in the ocean to lying on the beach.
“There are simply so many places sand was never meant to be,” she told him with a laugh.
After the promotion party officially ended, Sam and Nash dragged everyone to the bar in the main restaurant for another round of free drinks. Their huge group crowded into the small area, the guys immediately getting the bartender’s attention.
Peyton gave Laurissa a grin. “So, you and Lane, huh?”
Laurissa laughed, glancing at the cute SEAL standing over by the bar. “I’d been planning to try and set up a date with Lane even before meeting him tonight. But now that we have, there’s no doubt in my mind we’d be a good fit. He’s even more handsome in person than in his picture—and I thought he was hot then. He’s so easy to talk to. And it’s definitely a bonus that Noah doesn’t like the idea of me dating Lane. I live to make him uncomfortable.”
“That’s so wrong,” Peyton said, shaking her head but laughing all the same. “He’s your brother. You should be nicer to him.”
Laurissa lifted a brow. “Defending my brother now, huh? And before you try and deny it, don’t think I didn’t notice how into each other the two of you were at dinner. When did Noah go from being your bodyguard to something more?”
Peyton opened her mouth to say there was nothing going on, but then closed it again. Laurissa was her best friend in the world. She couldn’t lie to her.
“We kissed last night,” she admitted softly. “And it was really good. Better than good. The most amazing kiss ever. I was ready to go so much further, but Noah wanted to slow down because he thought there could be something special happening between us. So, we’re going to take our time and see where things take us. I guess tonight was technically our first date. Is that okay? Me dating your brother, I mean. That won’t make it weird for you, will it?”
“Why would it make it weird?” Laurissa smiled. “My two favorite people in the world are getting together. What could be better than that? You’ve always been like a sister to me, so being my sister-in-law would be awesome.”
Peyton laughed. “While it’s a reli
ef you feel that way, I think it’s safe to say you can put the brakes on when it comes to that sister-in-law stuff. Like I said, this was technically only our first date.”
“Who are you kidding?” Laurissa let out a snort. “You guys could have been alone in that room back there for all the attention you paid anyone else. It’s obvious you two are perfect for each other.”
Peyton was about to thank her friend for the vote of confidence, but the serious expression that suddenly crossed Laurissa’s face stopped her.
“What is it?” she asked.
Laurissa hesitated, like she was wondering if she should say anything, then sighed. “I don’t want this to sound like I’m trying to say you shouldn’t be with Noah, but have you thought about what dating a SEAL is going to be like? I mean, it’s not like I keep track of what he’s doing on a day-to-day basis, but I know he’s gone a lot. Even worse, he can’t tell us anything about where he’s going or what he’s doing. Most of the time we don’t even know he left town until he misses a dinner at Mom’s house or a movie with me.”
Peyton considered that. She’d been so focused on the idea of spending time with a man as perfect as Noah that the reality of his job had almost been an afterthought.
“I don’t know a lot about what SEALs do,” she admitted. “All I know is what I’ve read in a handful of military romances and what I see on the news. I’d like to think he’s well trained, good at his job, and that his Teammates watch out for him.”
“I’m sure you’re right about all those things, but bad things can still happen.” Her brow creased. “Regardless of what he says, I’m almost certain he didn’t hurt his knee playing volleyball. He was almost assuredly on a mission, probably in some backwater craphole neither one of us could find on a map if our lives depended on it.”
When Peyton didn’t say anything, her friend leaned in and gave her a hug, then stepped back to look at her seriously. “I would never try and tell you not to date my brother. You’re a grown woman free to make your own choices. I only want you to think about what it will mean if you do and ask yourself if you’re ready for what being with a Navy SEAL means.”
